NORTH OGDEN, Utah, July 17, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — An early morning encounter with a North Ogden patrol officer ended poorly for a motorist police say just happened to be carrying a suitcase loaded with marijuana in the trunk of his car.
According to 2nd District Court charging documents obtained by Gephardt Daily, a North Ogden officer was parked on Washington Boulevard at 2 a.m. Friday when he observed a red sedan driving erratically before it nearly struck his patrol car. The officer pulled the sedan over and said the driver, 38-year-old Neil Anthony Sexton, was acting nervous, shaking, talking fast, and making erratic movements.
“I told Neil that I could smell marijuana and asked if there was any marijuana in the vehicle,” Officer Phil Averett wrote in a probable cause affidavit. “Neil reached down into the driver side panel and pulled out a glass pipe containing a burnt substance.”
The officer had the suspect exit the vehicle and stand with another officer while he conducted a search based on Sexton’s alleged admission he had “about two pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the vehicle,” the arresting officer wrote. “I completed my systematic search of the vehicle, and when I got to the trunk I could see two bags containing a green leafy substance that had the odor of raw marijuana.
“In the trunk of the car I saw a suitcase as well. Neil stated that the suitcase was full of marijuana. I opened the suitcase and saw several large vacuum-sealed bags containing a green leafy substance…. Neil stated that all the items belonged to him.”
Sexton was booked into the Weber County Jail and faces charges of possession with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, and possession, a misdemeanor, according to the probable cause statement.
